Apr 30, 2014

The many faces of 4449

The 4449 was a Southern Pacific passenger train locomotive that had 8 driving wheels to move a dozen or so passenger cars over the toughest grades at speed on the railroad. It was decommissioned and became a park engine. The first time I saw it in 1970 was in Portland, Oregon in weathered black paint and in very poor shape.

I put this shot in first as it shows the glory that a steam engine can have on a beautifully restored locomotive. This was shot in 1981 at Old Sacramento celebrating the railroad where the Central Pacific started building the line over Donner Pass in California around 1866.

The photo is taken on the Irvin bridge in the Spokane Valley as 4449 heads east to some event in the Midwest. I stepped out on a rock in the Spokane River (with slippers on as my foot had a problem) when she appeared out of the trees with 10 seconds to spare for the shot! Riblet mansion in background.

We ventured out on a railroad bridge just north of Old Sacramento in 1990 to witness a re-enactment of the Golden Spike ceremony with 4449 and 8444 doing the honors. The original locos in 1869 were tiny 4-4-0s. Look at the crowd, how did they know I was going to be there?

Probably the most amazing paint job ever is the 4449 in black and silver....with a BNSF herald on the side! The loco is a Southern Pacific model that belongs to the Union Pacific and not bitter business rival BNSF - but I still loved it. The year was 2000.

The original reason why 4449 was brought back to life was the 200th Anniversary of the United States and lots of stuff on railroads got the red, white and blue treatment. This is 1976 and the location is Santa Susana Pass along the California coast.

Looking more like a painting rather than a photograph was 4449's crossing the Columbia River at Pasco, Washington and the sun setting in the west gave it this warm glow. The city of Portland, Oregon owns it and boy was it a treat!

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Welcome to the Evergreen Railroad Modelers Club!

The Club is located at 18213 East Appleway in the Greenacres Shopping Center, located in the Spokane Valley.

How to find us (click for map):

About the Club:

We use Code 83 rail, DCC equipped, on a theme of general Northwest topography with mountains, lots of bridges, 2 main lines and one branch line, 1 town, 1 large city, plenty of industries and smooth operations.

We currently have 36 members in the club of all different backgrounds that bring with them all sorts of talents. We are still looking for additional members to fill out our roster.

We meet in the afternoons on Tuesdays from 1 to 6pm and on Thursdays from 1 pm to 9 pm. Additional work sessions are done on an informal phone call basis.

We have a $30.00 per month dues structure to cover the rent and the overhead.

Beyond the model railroad aspect we have only one rule and that is to have fun.

Contact us:

Write an e-mail to jerry at signalsigns.com (use "@" symbol) for more information.